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L. BEYER. PROPELLING APPARATUS FOR VESSBLS.

No.505,785. Patented Sept. 26,1893

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 8.

L. BEYER. PROPELLING APPARATUS FOR VESSELS.

No. 505,785. Patented Sept. 26, 1893.

LozaziYfieyer,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS BEYER, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO MATHEW RUPPERT, OF SAME PLACE.

PROPELLING APPARATUS FOR VESSELS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 505,785, dated September 26, 1893.

Application filed April 1, 1 891. Renewed Septe T0 aZZ whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, LOUIS BEYER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Propelling Apparatus for Vessels; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and.

to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in propelling apparatus for all classes of vessels; and the object of the invention is to produce a propelling apparatus, that is very simple in its construction and operation, not liable to get out of order, and which can be applied to small as well as large boats or vessels of any kind.

Another object is to avoid the slip of the propellers or wheels now in use, and consequent loss of power occasioned, and instead to obtain the full force of the surface exposed to the water.

Still another object is to facilitate the ac cessibility to the different parts of the mechanism, either for the purpose of changing the speed of the vessel, reversing the action of the paddles employed, or for necessary repairs, oiling, &c.; and finally to operate the paddles by hand, foot, steam, electricity, compressed air, or any other power desired.

With these objects in view, my invention consists in the employment of one or more paddles operated by mechanism in such manner that, when the paddles exert their force against the water, exposing their entire surface against it, they are then turned a quarter of a revolution, so as to feather themselves; it also consists in the construction of certain details and arrangement of parts, as will be more fully described hereinafter, and specifically pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and the letters thereon.

Like letters indicate similar parts in the different figures of the drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a perspective view of the propelling apparatus, containing my immber 1. 1893- Serial No. 484.599. a model.]

provements. Fig. 2 is a plan or top view of the same. Fig. 3 is a side elevation'of the same. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the crank and jointed yoke attached to an endof the pitman. Fig. 5 is apart top view of the segment, showing the friction rollers connected to the upper endof a rudder.

In the accompanying drawings, A, repre sents part of the stern of a vessel, which can be of any size and construction, and may be either a row boat, canal boat, steam boat or ship, or any other vessel to be driven by power of any kind. To this stern the propellingmechanism is firmly secured in any suitable manner. It consists of one, two, or more paddles B (four being shown in the drawings) and each is attached to a shaft arranged in journals 0. The paddles are formed of the upper round part b, and the lower flat part b, and this is made with one side of the fiat part made Wider than the other side from the center line of the rudder, especially when two or more paddles are employed, so that they can readily pass each other, when in motion. By this means the centers of the parts I) can be brought closer together, and the turning of the paddles for feathering them, is also facilitated. The paddles, especially for large vessels, are to be made of wrought iron, steel, or any other suitable material for strength and elasticity. The upper partb of thesepaddles extends between the arched segments or arcs D, which are made of two segmental pieces with a space between them, for the passage of said part b, and they are firmly secured to the deck or other convenient place on the vessel, and said part b is provided with a bearing-block d, which guides the paddle at its upper end. A short distance below the top of the paddle, a crank arm e is secured, which carries at its outer end a friction roller f, bearing against the outer side of the lower part of the segment to prevent friction. To the block d a pitman E is attached, which in turn is connected to the upper end of a lever F, pivoted with its lower end to a fulcrum Gr, secured in any suitable manner to the vessel. About centrally of the pivoted lever F, another pitman H, is connected in any suitable manner at one end, while its opposite end is attached to the crank pin of a shaft I, mounted in suitable bearings. If desired, the piston rod of the engine may be directly connected to said lever F,or other equivalent driving mechanism may be employed to impart motion to the lever in a direct manner.

The reversing mechanism consists of a pivoted lever K, to one end of which a forked rod L is attached while its opposite end is secured to the pendent part D of the segment, which also assists in supporting the outer end of the paddle shaft. The inner end of the lever K is connected to a pitman M, which is attached to a jointed yoke M, in which operates a cam or crank m secured to the crankshaft N, operating in journals 'n. The crank m imparts motion to the lever Kin either direction,and thus the action of the paddles can be reversed. On the crankshaft N, a bevel wheel 0 is secured, meshing with another wheel P on a shaft Q, which is operated in any suitable manner, and thus imparts motion to the crankshaft. Any equivalent mechanism may be substituted for that herein shown.

As a modification of the crank e on the pad dle, with its friction roller f, a double crank or arm e, each provided with a friction roller f, may be employed. -Itis secured to the extreme upper end I) of the paddles, and extending on both sides of the segments, imparts greater steadiness to them, as the friction rollers bear on both sides of said segments, as plainly seen in Fig. 5.

The paddles, when arranged in pairs may be so placed, that they will work together, or one of the inside pair of paddles and one of the outside pair of paddles, or they may be operated singly, t'. e. one at a time, and operated so that the vessel can be turned on its center. If at any time it is desired, especially when at sea, and the vessel is pitching fore and aft, the paddles may be set deeper into the water, to prevent racing of the engines, and also to give a greater surface hearing against the water. If from any cause one of the paddles should become broken, it can be hoisted up, and unshipped for repairs, and can be easily replaced in position.

It will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, that by feathering the paddles as shown, no complicated machinery and gearing are required, and the full power can be exerted against the water in one direction,

while no resistance is offered in the other direction by connecting the paddles to the vertically pivoted lever, the. power can be increased as desired, by increasing the leverage and reducing the length of the fulcrum; there is no liability of the parts getting out of order, and there is no loss of power, as the force of the paddles is exerted directly against the water, and consequently there is no slip as in the ordinary screw propeller or paddle- Wheel; the mechanism can be very easily ap plied to old as well as new vessels of any size, and it can be produced at a very reasonable expense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of one or more paddles, arranged to receive a quarter turn by means of arched segments arranged over the upper parts bof the paddles B, and friction rollers on cranks secured to the upper ends of the paddles, with mechanism as shown for operating said paddles in pairs or singly, as shown and set forth.

2. The combination of one or more pivoted paddles, the double segments arranged over the upper part b of the paddles B and the friction rollers,with pitmen connected to Vertically pivoted levers F, and by piston rods or intermediate mechanism direct to the engine, as set forth.

3. The combination of arched segments arranged over the upper parts I) of the paddles B, provided with cranks carrying friction rollers, and mechanism to operate said paddles in the manner shown and for the purpose specified.

4. The propelling mechanism herein described, consisting of one or more paddles B, having cranks c with friction rollers f, moving against the segments D, arranged over the upper part b of the paddles B, and operated by blocks 01 to which the pitmen E are connected and to the vertically pivoted levers F, actuated by any motive power, in combination with reversing mechanism, all constructed and arranged as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LOUIS BEYER.

Witnesses:

MATHEW RUPPERT, LoUIs BEYER, Jr. 

